Minatogawa Shrine
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The Minatogawa Shrine ( Japanese 湊 川 神社 , also Nanko-san ) is a Shinto shrine in the Chūō-ku district in Kobe , Japan. It was built in 1871/1872 at the instigation of the first governor of Hyōgo prefecture to worship Kusunoki Masashige (under the name Dai Nankō), who died in the battle of Minatogawa or died by suicide (today's Chūō-ku, Kobe). The location for the construction was chosen around a monument that had been built for him in 1692. His wife (under the name Nankō Fujin) is encased in a side shrine ( sessha ). Sugawara no Michizane is also worshiped as a kami in the Minatogawa Shrine .
Probably the most important festival for the Minatogawa Shrine is the Nanko Festival, which the shrine holds annually around May 25, the anniversary of the death of Kusunoki Masashige. Parades are held in which the participants as Kusunoki Masashige and the 16 General dressing up his family.
Several hundred traditional Japanese swords were made for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Minatogawa Shrine, and they have become coveted collectors' items.
By the end of the Second World War, the shrine had also been raised to the rank of bekkaku-kampei-sha ("special class imperial shrine "). During the Second World War, the shrine was destroyed by US bombs. In 1952 it was therefore rebuilt in concrete (!).
There are currently around 100 cultural items on display in the shrine, including Kusunoki Masashige's breastplate and a handwritten sutra .
Web links
- Minatogawa Shrine Official Website - Japanese
- Information offered by the tourism website of the city of Kobe - English
Coordinates: 34 ° 40 ′ 52.89 " N , 135 ° 10 ′ 31.58" E